Hi cousins; tourist information on California--that's a pretty tall order. Did you have any particular area in mind, or the whole State? I've found AAA to be a terrific source of tourist information. If you are a member they will not only plan your trip for you, but give you all the brochures and information you could possible read. And we've had very good experiences with their travel agency as well (and no, I'm not connected with them in any way--just a satisfied customer)

Cousins that is a tall order. I love my area, Yosemite, but we go to Monterey Bay allot. There is also San Francisco, Death Valley, Palm Springs, San Diego, Wild Animal Park, Zoo, Disneyland, Los Angles, Hearst Castle, The Northern Redwoods, Shasta, Sacramento, Tahoe, Wine Country...... I could go on forever

Thanks guys for replying. We were thinking of flying into Fresno renting a car and going to the Sequioa and King National Park area then driving or flying over to Monterey Bay/San Fran and returning home. We want to see the beauty of the other coast. We were at one time going to do this AND tack on a Panama Canal Cruise but we ended up having a wedding for my daughter coming up JAN of '08 so there went that money! We are from So. FL and we want to see the beauty of CAL in 10-12 days.But with this plan are we "missing the boat" is there better national parks or scenic drives or is what we've listed good enough to get the gist of things.????

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are worth a good look. Also within a days drive is Yosemite National Park. There are a few stops on the way to Yosemite. I would recommend, Lewis Creek, and Nelder Grove. Many people stay in Fresno and do King's Canyon Sequoia as a day trip. Just depends on the amount of time you want to spend there. For Yosemite they usually stay in the Oakhurst area. There are some shady areas in Fresno so watch where you stay.

Monterey Bay is well worth the trip, The aquarium is one of the best in the world. San Francisco has an endless amount to do.

Gary: What about flying into Visalia and driving up RT 198 and then RT 180. Some sites we were thinking about seeing: Mount Whitney, Crystal Cave,Giant Forest, Moro Rock, Crescent Meadow, Marble Fork Canyon, Lodgepole up to Grant Grove, Panoramic Point Road, Boyden Cave,
Grizzly Falls, Roaring River Falls, Mist Falls.
General Sherman Tree?
Do you know anything about these sites? Do you know if any commercial airlines fly into Visalia?
Would you recommend the John Muir Lodge. How are the leaves in Oct?

I do not think you will have any luck flying into Visalia. You are probably better flying into Fresno and taking RT 180.
All the place you are thinking about seeing are worth while. I enjoyed both the caves a few years ago and they were great. You will not be able to see Mt Whitney unless you are on the other side, the east side of the Sierras. You would have to get to it off Rt 395. You would have to take 99 south to 58 east to 395 north, maybe a 300 mile drive.
The color in October depends on the year. However you probably will not see much unless you are late October. The water in the rivers will also be low or gone so the falls will not be very good, unless we have a better than average snow pack. The good news is that the tourist tend to slow down after labor day.

I have not stayed at the Muir Lodge but have heard good things about it.

Gary: You are such a great help. We'll skip Mt Whitney. There are flights into Visalia. But I'm not sure about the rental car situation.
Renting a car in Monterey and returning it in Visalia...I know it costs more and hopefully these towns have such a thing (we did this in Fairbanks to Anchorage- but they were big cities)
So, would the end of May or Sept be better as far as the waterfalls?
If we only went to one place of the following which would you recommend: Yosemite or Sequoia/Kings?